


Works in Progress

by chancellorxofxtrash



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daddy Issues, Guilt, Kissing, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, SOLtis bodies, Underage Drinking, everyone has issues so they are trying to deal with them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22470601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chancellorxofxtrash/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Ryoken checks the simulations - and an idea forms in his head, and he decides to take control of his destiny. Which leads him towards two Ignis, one Lost Incident victim, a lot of issues, and trying to work them out.And carving out their own destinies. Slowly, but surely.And maybe kissing them. That definitely was not the initial plan, but such are the wonders of free will.
Relationships: Kusanagi Jin/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken, Kusanagi Jin/Revolver | Kougami Ryouken/Lightning/Windy, Revolver | Kougami Ryouken/Lightning, Revolver | Kougami Ryouken/Windy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	Works in Progress

**Author's Note:**

> So Immi put the idea of this shit into my brain, and I figured it out and finally wrote it. So here it is, in it's own messy glory.

Ryoken could not have explained why he pulled up the simulations.

He did not run simulations himself, no - simply pulled up the data his father had left behind, and looked through it. Looking for patterns.

The patterns seemed clear - the Ignis lead to humanity’s destruction.

Ryoken leaned back in his chair, looking at the screens - seeing all of the lines, all of the options the simulations brought up.

“Is there a problem?”

Spectre asked behind him, and Ryoken did not look at him while replying.

“These simulations, and what my father said seem to hint at one thing - humanity attacks the Ignis, so they fight back, and win. But…”

“But?”

“It happened already. We attacked the Ignis. And yet, the Dark Ignis, and the Fire Ignis show no inclination to fight humanity. On the contrary - they have teamed up with humans.”

“But the Wind Ignis had attacked his own origin.”

Ryoken nodded slowly.

“Maybe there are other variables. I need to study the simulations closer.”

And that is how he found the simulations deep within the network, within Cyberse’s ruins.

The simulations that the Light Ignis ran.

The individual ones.

“Does this mean that if not for the Light Ignis, all the Ignis could cooperate with humans?” Spectre leaned forward, frowning. “But the Wind Ignis...”

“There is no trace of the Wind Ignis being hostile to humanity in the original simulations.”

They were silent a bit.

Ryoken’s eyes fixed on the screen, the data for the Wind Ignis, and then opened the data they got from the car that hit the Wind Ignis’ origin.

The traces of the Wind Ignis in there.

The data was different.

And that was the point where Ryoken Kogami made a decision.

~*~

He did not mention what he knew when he faced the Wind Ignis. If he had mentioned, it would not have changed a thing, he was aware.

He needed to win the duel, if he wanted to change anything.

And he did.

The Wind Ignis landed on the floor, pitifully, groaning.

“Wait--- wait…!”

“If you had won, would you have shown me mercy?”

The Wind Ignis looked taken aback, his entire body trembling, and the air was full of oppressive anticipation.

And Ryoken smirked.

“Luckily for you, I am _not you._ ”

“Huh? Are you letting me go?”

“I did not say that.”

Ryoken raised his duel disk, and activated a program.

“Wait… Wait, no you can’t! Lightning, Lightni---”

He was screaming as the swirl of data dragged him inside Ryoken’s duel disk.

“What have you done?!”

The Dark Ignis’ voice was accusatory, and Ryoken looked at him.

“I am taking charge of our destiny, Dark Ignis.”

“You can’t just kidnap him!”

“I am not kidnapping. Think of it as taking custody. It is preferable to me killing him, is it not? Wouldn’t you agree, Light Ignis?”

The Light Ignis’ eyes narrowed.

“You had taken one of us with you as a hostage. That is an act of war” His voice was chilly. “I am declaring war on you, for taking my all--”

“Is he really _your_ ally?”

Ryoken’s voice was sharp, and everyone’s eyes turned on him, and even the Light Ignis looked taken aback.

And Ryoken smirked.

“Are you afraid of what I might find if I talk with him, Light Ignis?”

The Light Ignis’ entire posture screamed suppressed fury, but he did not answer.

~*~

Ryoken walked through the plaza, towards the hot dog truck, his duel disk on his arm. It was not deactivated, but cut off from the network, and it locked the Wind Ignis inside, not allowing him to come out.

Not yet.

Would not be safe yet.

He needed something to be done before he could do that.

It was Kusanagi who first saw him approach, and by the time he arrived to the hot dog truck, Playmaker already ran outside.

“What have you done to Windy?!” The Dark Ignis demanded, always on Playmaker’s arm. “Where is he?!”

“You are awfully worried for someone who is apparently on a different side than you.”

The Dark Ignis was obviously seething and Ryoken shook his head.

“Let’s talk somewhere private. Then I will tell you why I did what I did.”

~*~

He removed his duel disk, putting it down to the table.

“My father had ran simulations.”

“You told us that, yes, he run simulations, that’s why he attacked us,” The Dark Ignis snapped. “That is nothing new.”

“Indeed. But I ran over the simulations in detail and I found out something. Individually every Ignis has a good chance of cooperating with humans. Every one of them. Except for one. And that one being there poisons everyone else.”

“Is it Windy?” Playmaker asked and Ryoken shook his head.

“No. The Wind Ignis had a chance to have a promising future with humans. It is the Light Ignis where everything leads to destruction.”

Silence.

Ryoken tapped his duel disk.

“Which obviously led me to ask the question: why was the Wind Ignis so hostile then? There was nothing in the simulations that showed him being hostile to humans. So I looked into it.”

“What did you find?”

Playmaker asked, and Ryoken looked at his duel disk.

“That the Wind Ignis’ code right now is not the same as the Wind Ignis’ code in the simulations that my father ran.”

There was silence in the truck.

“Lightning…” Playmaker started, hesitant. “...he tried to reprogram both Ai and Flame.”

Ryoken smirked and nodded.

“That does seem likely.”

“Wait, you say that Lightning reprogrammed Windy? Does that mean it can be reversed and Windy can be still… the old one? The old Windy? Non-homicidal Windy?”

“Seems like it.”

Silence again.

“Are _you_ willing to do it?”

“Yes.”

Now all three of them were staring at Ryoken - Playmaker, Kusanagi and the Dark Ignis all looked baffled, their eyes fixed on Ryoken.

“I think I am hearing things. I heard Revolver saying he would help Windy, but he wouldn’t do that now would he?”

“I said what I said,” Ryoken said in a sharp voice. “The question is - will you help me, or not? That way, we could be done faster.”

Obviously they would not say no to that.

~*~

It took a while. In the meantime, the Wind Ignis was forcibly put into sleep-mode, as the Dark Ignis had put it - the Ignis did not need to sleep, but could be forced into a similar shutdown state.

“It would be annoying if he would be here yelling at us or trying to kill us while we are trying to save him,” The Dark Ignis said, gesturing towards the screen.

“Also this way it is probably less painful,” The Fire Ignis pointed it out, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Soulburner could not be that much of a help from a programming standpoint - but obviously he was also involved with the plan. He was so attached to Playmaker by the hip lately, it was impossible not to. Not to mention the Fire Ignis _could_ actually help somewhat.

“Lightning really cut our work out for us,” Playmaker mentioned, eyes fixed on the screen, ignoring the chattering of the Ignis.

His words somehow had an effect of both Ignis quieting down, and exchanging a nervous glance, and Ryoken just glanced down at them.

“What?”

“We had been thinking,” The Fire Ignis started. “What are your plans with Lightning after this?”

Silence. Ryoken could feel everyone’s eyes focusing on him.

“That case is different.”

“Why?” The Dark Ignis pressed.

“Because the Wind Ignis shows potential in the simulations of being able to work together well. The Light Ignis doesn’t.”

“How many of those simulations exist?” Playmaker interjected.

“Billions.”

“That is not infinity. There might be one you missed.”

“What are the chances for it?”

Playmaker looked at him green eyes focusing on him, and Ryoken actually looked back at him.

“What are the chances of someone being so irredeemably evil as you claim? This isn’t a Saturday morning cartoon, and Lightning isn’t a moustache-twirling villain.”

“He would look ridiculous with a moustache,” The Dark Ignis piped up.

“So would you,” The Fire Ignis responded immediately.

“Oh no. I would rock it.”

“Absolutely would not.”

“You would have a fire moustache. That is the worst.”

“A fire moustache is _badass.”_

“Would you be willing to bet humanity’s future on the off-chance that we can find a situation where the Light Ignis doesn’t become humanity’s enemy?” Ryoken interrupted the two Ignis, ignoring their juvenile bickering.

Playmaker turned his eyes away, back to the screens.

“Would you be willing to condemn someone to die just over what computers predict? Without even investigating a bit further?”

“When it comes down to all of humanity versus one Ignis? Yes.”

“What if we could save them both? While we are working on Windy, it absolutely would not hurt anyone just to… see if there is a chance of doing that.”

“Are you suggesting we reprogram him like he reprogrammed the Wind Ignis?”

Everyone immediately jumped in the food truck, and all eyes widened as they looked at Ryoken.

Well. Almost all of them.

“You can’t do that!” The Dark Ignis yelled, and the Fire Ignis’ entire body tensed, and he looked at Ryoken with an absolutely furious expression.

“That is not what I--”

“I know,” Ryoken interrupted, smirking a bit. “I had a feeling none of you would be up for that, but I figured better to have all the cards on the table. I wouldn’t be too fond of that option either.”

“Bothered by the ethics, Revolver?” Kusanagi spoke up suddenly.

The one person whose expression was not full of disbelief and rage over what Ryoken brought up as an option.

(It made sense, Ryoken figured. Kusanagi would probably consider _every_ option to get his brother back.)

“I’m worried about the effectiveness, more like,” Revolver shrugged. “So that option is obviously off the table. But very well, then. We can look into the simulations and the data of the Light Ignis. See what we can find.”

Truthfully, Ryoken thought they wouldn’t find anything. That he would have to be the one to put down the Light Ignis, because none of the others seemed that keen on doing that, maybe except for Kusanagi himself.

He was wrong.

He was very, very wrong.

~*~

“There is no trace anywhere of Jin Kusanagi being overwritten.”

Ryoken’s voice was sharp and sudden, and he could hear the sound of surprise.

“What do you mean?!”

Kusanagi’s voice was demanding, and Ryoken didn’t look at him.

“Based from the data all us connected when we met with the Light Ignis, and analysing it, comparing with old data the scientists collected during the Lost Incident, there is no significant change. If Jin Kusanagi would be rewritten or brainwashed, it would have shown up already.”

In a split second, Kusanagi was there, grabbing the front of Ryoken’s shirt, yanking him to his feet, to get into Ryoken’s face.

“Are you saying that Jin went with him willingly?!” Kusanagi hissed, eyes narrowing angrily. “You think he would do that? You saw him! He barely even reacted!”

“It might be what they want us to think.”

“Why? Why would he lie?!”

None of them had an answer to it, and Kusanagi’s hands went limp, causing Ryoken to fall back into his chair.

And then Playmaker spoke up, softly.

“Anger.”

“What?”

“He was a victim of the Lost Incident,” Playmaker’s voice was simple, as he looked at them. “I for one know exactly how angry that might make someone. So does Takeru. And both of us ended up partnering up with our Ignis. Maybe that is what Jin is doing as well.”

“But that’s different!” Kusanagi snapped, but there was a desperation in his voice. “Ai and Flame are not… are not…”

“The Knights of Hanoi are probably high on the Light Ignis’ hit list,” Ryoken nodded slowly. “Not unreasonable to assume that destroying us is something worth signing up with the Light Ignis for.”

“But that is…”

“I know I would have,” Yusaku interjected simply, locking eyes with Ryoken. “If Ai would have told me back then that more drastic actions were needed to destroy the Knights, I would have taken them.”

Silence occupied the hot dog truck, and Ryoken turned towards the screen.

“Well. We might have something to talk them down then. And I think we managed to free the Wind Ignis’ data as well. We can have a plan.”

~*~

The Wind Ignis was oddly quiet, when he was allowed to wake up.

For like ten seconds before he took a deep breath (he did not even _need_ to breathe and yet), and launched into a tirade.

“Okay, first of all - Revolver I would let you know if I had been total control of my mental capabilities, I would have destroyed you. I totally would have won. No questions asked. Second of all - screw you all, putting me to sleep? Really? I hated it. Never do that again. Third of a---”

“I guess this is where you should thank us for fixing you,” Ryoken interjected, and the Wind Ignis’ eyes narrowed.

“Thank you? What for? You are going to kill me either way won’t you?”

“Windy,” The Fire Ignis interjected, before Ryoken could have replied. “We are trying to work out a way where no one has to die.”

The Wind Ignis looked at him, tilting his head a little.

“No one? Does that include Lightning? Because I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Do you want the Light Ignis to die?”

“You know what he did to me!” The Wind Ignis snapped, looking back at Ryoken. “What he made me do, and probably would have done…”

“That was not an answer. Do you want him to die?”

The effect was visible - it was obvious the Wind Ignis wanted to yell _yes_ but no words escaped him, and he visibly deflated.

Ryoken leaned forward.

“One more question. Did you or the Light Ignis did anything to Jin Kusanagi’s free will?”

The Wind Ignis obviously frowned.

“No. I don’t really get the whole damsel-act either. Sure Bohman kidnapped the kid, but as soon as he was there, he was wholly open to cooperation. They didn’t tell me why they decided to act like he is a damsel.”

Ryoken was aware how the tension left Kusanagi’s body, like it was his turn to be deflated now, as if all resistance ran out of him.

“You are not lying then?”

“Why would I lie?” The Wind Ignis shrugged. “To protect them? Nah. After all of that? Nahhhhhh.”

“And are you willing to help us try and create peace between Ignis and humans?”

“...now when you put it like that and if I say no, I will be the jackass. So I guess yes.”

So this was over and done with.

Time for the next part of the plan.

~*~

Revolver, Playmaker and Soulburner split up. All three of them alone, all three of them ready to either be a decoy, or be the one who speaks with the Light Ignis.

Well.

Mostly alone.

Because all three of them…

“I never thought something like this would happen, you know. And I don’t like it.”

“The feeling is mutual. Trust me, this is just temporary.”

The Wind Ignis was in his duel disk.

He tried not to think about it too much.

Too bad the Wind Ignis was busy making a nuisance out of himself.

“...you do know odds are he will show up for us, yes?”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“Didn’t you think you should have said it to Playmaker and Soulburner? To Flame and Ai?”

“I am sure Playmaker figured it out,” Ryoken said, eyes fixed in the distance. “Whether Soulburner and the two Ignis did is another question.”

“And you think Playmaker is fine with it? Do you think he trusts you?”

“Haven’t you noticed that yet?”

“Wow. He has issues.”

The corner of Ryoken’s eye twitched.

“You don’t say.”

“And? What you gonna do with his trust? Betray it? Cruelly kill Lightning either way and drag Jin Kusanagi back kicking and screaming?”

Ryoken was silent, and then the Wind Ignis laughed out loud.

“Oh. Just like he trusts you for no reason, you don’t have the will to betray his trust either. Revolver, _you_ have issues.”

“Perceptive as ever, Wind Ignis,” Ryoken said in an emotionless voice, when a portal opened up in front of them. “And now shut up. We have work to do.”

~*~

He landed in front of the two of them - Jin Kusanagi’s mouth covered by a high collar, and the Light Ignis sitting on his shoulder, and the Ignis just sneered at them.

“Well, look at you. Actually partnering up with Revolver? Did not expect that betrayal, Windy.”

“And I did not expect that you would reprogram me! What the hell, Lightning?”

“Ah…” The Light Ignis was silent for a few moments. “This is unfortunate. I preferred having you at my side.”

“Yeah? Shut up.”

“And also,” Ryoken interjected. “You can stop pretending, Jin Kusanagi. We all know you aren’t just a simple puppet here.”

Now that made the Light Ignis look taken aback, and even Jin Kusanagi’s eyes widened - and Ryoken smirked.

“Didn’t see that coming did you?”

Jin slowly moved, pulling the collar down from his mouth.

“What do you want, Revolver?”

“We came here to talk.”

“Talk? You?” Jin snorted. “That is not like you at all. I think you mean you came here to kill Lightning.”

“Do you think the Wind Ignis would have came here if that would be my plan?”

“He might hate Lightning enough to agree to that.”

“He might not.”

“Stop talking about me like I am not here!” The Wind Ignis complained.

“Hush, Windy, the adults are talking now,” Jin interjected, locking eyes with Ryoken, who smirked, and obviously the Wind Ignis did not shut up.

“Adult? You are sixteen.”

“Being tortured for six months adds a few years.”

“And being catatonic for ten years takes away a few. Can you even read?”

“I can certainly kick the asses of you two in a duel, Windy, Revolver.”

“So you say,” Ryoken’s voice was cold. “We can try if that is what you want. But that is not why we came here.”

“Then do you plan on killing me without a duel, Revolver?” The Light Ignis asked.

“You are fixated on the possibility of me killing you.”

“You are the one who was hyper-fixated on killing every Ignis a few weeks ago,” The Light Ignis pointed out, and the Wind Ignis snorted.

“He has a point there, Revolver.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then Jin stepped forward.

“So, Revolver. Why should we trust anything you say?”

“Because I know why _you_ do what you do, Light Ignis. I know you did simulations.”

The Light Ignis recoiled, and there was a worried light in Jin’s eyes as well.

“...and what of it?”

“I had seen with my own eyes what does it do to someone who is consumed by what they had seen in those simulations,” Ryoken said simply, stepping forward. “This is an offer for you to find a new one.”

“Awfully generous of you,” The Light Ignis hissed. “Why would _you_ be willing to risk that? If you had seen the simulations---”

“The Dark Ignis and the Fire Ignis believe you are able to find a new path,” Ryoken interrupted him.

“And you trust _them?”_

“It’s Playmaker,” The Wind Ignis shrugged. “He has issues. If Playmaker is willing, Revolver is more likely to listen as well. Not much, but somewhat. Combine that with the simulations that remind him of his daddy issues, and voila! A more reasonable Revolver right here, in front of you.”

“Wind Ignis?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

Ryoken didn’t even dignify that with an answer, instead took another step towards Jin and Lightning.

“Not to mention, you are here from your own free will,” Ryoken said, looking into Jin’s eyes. “Which means getting rid of the Light Ignis would just generate even more problems, probably with your brother as well. This is the only offer you two are going to get. Are you going to take charge of your destiny, or let the simulations dictate you?”

Silence.

The two of them exchanged a look before turning back.

“What is the catch, Revolver?”

“You two will be under my supervision for the time being.”

“You mean your prisoners.”

“I might be willing to give you a chance, but I am no fool,” Ryoken’s voice was harsh and cold. “This is the one and only time you get this offer as well. What do you say?”

Silence. The Light Ignis frowned, his entire body shaking, and Jin gritted his teeth as well.

Then another voice rang out.

“Jin… please.”

Hearing Kusanagi’s voice made Jin recoil, eyes looking around with a wild look.

“...why? Why are you interfering?”

“I understand you probably see something in Lightning none of us can,” Kusanagi’s voice still rang out all around them. “So… prove Revolver wrong. Prove him and his father and the rest of the Hanoi wrong. Show them Lightning is not humanity’s enemy.”

“What if he is and I am fine with it?” Jin hissed, taking a step away from Revolver.

“I don’t think he is,” Kusanagi’s voice was still all around them. “I think whatever he saw in those simulations made him think he was. But you can all forge a path. A path where all of us can coexist.”

There was silence again.

Then Revolver spoke up again.

“So. What do you say to the offer?”

“We don’t really have a choice now do we?” Jin’s voice was sharp and bitter and Ryoken smirked.

“You always do. You can duel us and see where that leads us. Either you win or we win. After that there are even more paths. But if you choose that, someone here gets destroyed which will inevitably lead to more destruction.”

“What makes you think accepting your offer won’t lead to destruction?” The Light Ignis snapped, and Ryoken shook his head.

“I do not know. But there is a chance then. I guess after that it will be up to us.”

Part of him did not expect they would actually accept it.

But then Jin straightened his back, and stepped closer to Ryoken, eyes full with determination, and Windy whistled.

“Things are gonna get even more interesting now.”

And Ryoken couldn’t even argue with that.

~*~

He took them to the house by Stardust Road. It was secluded, easily manageable, and a place that Ryoken knew extremely well. A place they could keep an eye on them, and also a way where they could have privacy if they needed.

It helped that SOL Technologies soon finished their SOLtiS project - it was easier to keep track of two AIs while they were in human bodies, when they were weird colourful gremlins.

Both of them looked utterly ridiculous though.

The Wind Ignis dressed like he imagined himself as the dashing hero of a gothic romance novel, full of a long coat and frills, and long, messy, two-toned green hair in a ponytail. Too bad he was way too short to be a romance hero.

The Light Ignis was somewhat taller, but skinnier, and he looked somewhat like Bohman, and had really defined cheekbones - his piercing green eyes would always be darting towards the nearest exit whenever Ryoken was in the same room as him. His outfit was all gold and white, as if he was once wearing a suit, but now it was just a shirt and trousers with a white vest with embroidered patterns on it. Also with a purple tie properly tucked under his vest, and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. His golden hair stuck into multiple directions, wild, like it had never been brushed.

Also glasses with purple frames.

“Would it have hurt you two to design bodies that are not complete eyesores?”

The Light Ignis was the one who looked up at him over his glasses.

“Bold words for someone who designed VRAINS avatars like yours.”

“He has a point,” Jin snickered. “I heard enough about the anti-glare shields.”

“That is the virtual world. We are in reality now.”

“We are AIs,” The Light Ignis pointed it out. “For us, this world might as well be as fake as the virtual world is for you.”

“Oooh, that’s profound of you, Lightning,” The Wind Ignis twirled around in front of the mirror, checking out completely how his body looked.

“You don’t even need to be here,” Ryoken pointed at the Wind Ignis. “You can _leave._ ”

“And leave my partner behind?” The Wind Ignis grinned at Ryoken.

“You are not my partner.”

“Rude. And anyway, you think I would leave behind Lightning and not watch him squirm? Not that lucky, nuh-huh. Lightning messed with my brain, the least of I can get is watch him be uncomfortable around you.”

The Light Ignis looked away, and after a few moments of silence, Jin leaned forward, pushing on his glasses teasingly.

“To be honest I do have to give Revolver this one. Why do you even need glasses? You are an android.”

The Light Ignis sneered, pulling away, and fixing his glasses.

“I don’t see the point you are making here.”

“I think he thinks he looks smart,” Ryoken heard himself say, and both Jin and the Wind Ignis snickered.

And the Light Ignis glared, but did not say anything.

So he was probably right.

~*~

He saw the Light Ignis the least. It was almost like he was avoiding Ryoken, which was frankly, probably the case. His movements were quick and soundless, often appearing and disappearing from doorways. There were many rooms in the house.

Of course he needed to be sure that he wouldn’t _leave,_ so after a week of this hide-and-seek, Ryoken found the Light Ignis in one of the back rooms.

A room full of books - the Light Ignis was sitting on the floor, surrounded by many books, flipping through another one. His glowing green eyes flickered through the pages quickly, as if his eyes were scanning the contents instantly.

Which they probably were.

“Found anything interesting?”

The Light Ignis jumped, eyes flickering up to Ryoken, putting down his book.

“Not particularly. None of these books are very interesting. Don’t you have anything more serious?”

“There are many other books in the room. Even more in my father’s old room, if those are more to your liking.”

“Whose room was this then?”

Ryoken did not reply, just pulled out a flash drive. from his pocket.

“I brought this to you.”

The Light Ignis’ eyes dropped to it, and Ryoken could see there were many possibilities running through his mind.

“What is that? Decided to delete me?”

“If I would do that, I wouldn’t do it with a flash drive.”

“Tracking device?”

“Now you are closer to it. I installed a security system. I do not want to know where are you all the time - this program will alert me only if you leave the building.”

Silence. The Light Ignis put down his book.

“So you are really imprisoning me.”

“Until I know you really are not a danger, yes. Got a problem with it?”

The Light Ignis pressed his mouth together into a thin line, and obviously thinking over possibilities again.

“No. Go ahead.”

Ryoken stepped over the books, kneeling down close to the Light Ignis, and reached behind him, to open the light on the back of the android’s neck, inserting the flash drive.

It obviously made the Light Ignis shiver, and Ryoken just left his hands there.

It only took a few seconds, until the Light Ignis’ eyes flickered upwards, their eyes meeting.

“Did it finish installing?”

Ryoken heard his own voice sound softer than he intended it, and the Light Ignis just nodded slowly, and so Ryoken just removed the flashdrive, which made the Ignis shiver again, and then straightening his back, fixing his vest, trying to regain his composure.

And Ryoken just stood up, putting away the flashdrive, walking outside.

“Enjoy your reading then, Light Ignis.”

~*~

“Hey! Next time you install something inside my Ignis, how about you talk with me first, asshole?”

He probably could have seen Jin Kusanagi’s explosion coming a mile away, but either way, he basically slammed Ryoken’s door open a few hours after the entire meeting with the Light Ignis went down.

“You think you could have changed the outcome?”

Jin’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t like you doing things like this.”

“Would you have preferred if I had trusted him immediately? That wasn’t going to happen. Don’t be a fool.”

“I should have been there.”

“Nothing would have changed.”

“It would have! He wouldn’t have been alone with you!”

Ryoken leaned back, looking up at Jin.

“You are worried I would go back on my word.”

“Of course I am,” Jin hissed. “You are a Knight of the Hanoi. You are everything that ruined my life. Of course I do not trust you with Lightning’s life.”

After a few moments of silence, Ryoken slowly nodded.

“Duly noted.”

Jin glared at him for a few moments, before turning around and storming back out.

~*~

Jin was constantly moving around the house. The Light Ignis usually scooped up somewhere, and Jin was never further than a room away from him, as Ryoken noticed. There was a tangible sense of protectiveness, at least from Jin towards the Light Ignis. Hard to tell what was the case the other way around.

“You hadn’t been in Link VRAINS since we got them out of there. Are you sure you are fine with this? Bohman and Haru are still out there you know. Seems like a total oversight to me.”

...the Wind Ignis on the other hand…

“They are not unsupervised. The rest of the Hanoi, and also Playmaker’s faction are looking after them.”

“Kusanagi gave up Jin’s supervision to you? I would expect him to be camping outside, honestly.”

“I’m pretty sure he is spying on us, if that is what you are referring to.”

“Well, that too. But I also meant more like in the _he would be moving in here and looking after you all the time_ way.”

“I think Jin talked him out of it,” Ryoken’s voice was a bit softer. “I think he is pretty much the only person who can sometimes make Kusanagi listen, when it comes to Jin’s own fate. Even if he is probably the most confused out of everyone.”

“Huh? What you mean?”

Ryoken leant back, and looked at the Wind Ignis, who looked at him, with wide, confused eyes.

“Kusanagi had been looking after Jin for all these years. Probably a part of him still hoped that once things will be over, Jin will be back to… well, for the lack of a better word, normal. But it was never going to happen.”

“Harsh, much?”

“You know it’s true,” Ryoken looked away from the Wind Ignis. “Jin Kusanagi was a victim of the Lost Incident. Things were never going to go back to normal from that.”

“Which is the Hanoi’s fault.”

“Yes it is.”

“You did not hesitate.”

“Because denying the truth doesn’t help anyone.”

“That is why you are here? To help? Since when did you grow that helpful, Revolver?”

“Since when _you_ are that helpful, Wind Ignis?”

“Lightning is still my kind,” The Wind Ignis’ voice grew quieter. “And there is only six of us in the universe.”

~*~

As much as the Wind Ignis liked to bother him, Ryoken himself preferred to let them have their privacy. Mostly because if he wasn’t running to either of the other three living there, they wouldn’t be giving him a headache. Jin always looked ready to jump at Ryoken to probably bite his throat out if he had to, and the Wind Ignis never shut up.

At least the Light Ignis was also avoiding him.

He did not spy on him, obviously. That probably would have just made him more paranoid, which was the opposite of what they wanted to do. But walking around the house, he did notice things, and hear things.

He also noticed that whenever he did see the Light Ignis together with Jin Kusanagi, how close they were to each other. Often just sitting extremely close, or one of them standing behind the other. There was the kind of casual intimacy between them you usually don’t notice at first, only when you see it repeatedly. Their sides pressed together, hands brushing, general closeness.

Always, always some kind of touching.

Wasn’t actually that surprising, he figured. He had spent a lot of time together in the hot dog truck with Playmaker, Soulburner and their Ignis. While he had observed them in Link VRAINS a lot, that was different. In Link VRAINS, they always had to be on alert - there in the hot dog truck, they were a lot more casual, and he noticed the fondness, the intimacy present. And although he did not meet them that much since the Dark Ignis and the Fire Ignis had their own bodies, what he did see, they were just as close.

(Of course they all worried about the Light Ignis and the Wind Ignis being that close to Ryoken all the time - as he understood, they mostly kept contact online. It also helped that the Wind Ignis was free to move around and act as a sort of messenger. They weren’t banned from entering Ryoken’s mansion, but he also understood they weren’t that keen on that either.)

(Even though they did sometimes show up, just to bother Ryoken, apparently. As if he didn’t have enough of a headache already.)

Ryoken also overheard parts of conversations before. Bickering, or even complaining about Ryoken himself, or even gentle talks, he did not listen.

He kept walking.

Usually.

But…

“You still never answered me, Lightning.”

“About what?”

“You know damn well what! Why did you reprogram me? Did you really want to win the war that much?”

Ryoken stopped mid-step.

He told himself a little bit of this conversation definitely… would not hurt.

“Yes,” The Light Ignis replied bluntly. “I considered what I had seen in the simulations, and decided a preemptive strike was needed. And for that, we needed to be unified.”

“Even at the cost of taking away our free will? What made us unique in the first place? That makes no sense, Lightning.”

“Survival over any cost. I figured that once my plan of becoming one within Bohman would have succeeded, you all would have… understood. And even if you would not have, we all would have been alive.”

There was silence for a few moments.

“Hey… Lightning. In those simulations… have you seen anything like this?”

“I…” Hesitation, and Ryoken kept listening. “I am not sure. There were billions of possibilities. But I feel like I would remember something like this. I don’t remember an option where Revolver gave us a chance quite like this. I need to think about it more, see what else I can dig up from my memory.”

“Do you think he is lying?”

“It’s a possibility. Can’t fully let our guard down. I know you partnered up with him, but be vigilant.”

“Aye. Will do. That would be kind of a bummer though.”

“But not surprising.”

Ryoken decided he had heard enough.

~*~

That night he was sitting outside on the balcony - part of him hoped the moon would be up, he wanted to look over Stardust Road, let himself get lost in the lights.

The sky was overcast all day though, so it was not surprising that the moon was not shining at all.

“What are you out here brooding for?”

He glanced back at Jin Kusanagi, who walked outside, in… a weird outfit.

“Those are my clothes.”

“I raided one of your closets. Deal with it,” Jin shrugged, hopping down next to Ryoken, crossing his legs. “You didn’t reply. Why is the broody mood?”

“Just thinking.”

“Uh-huh. Brooding. Don’t think I’m dumb. My brother talked to me a lot about things that happened. Even mentioned the Stardust Road thing.”

Ryoken did not reply just looked back out to the ocean, and Jin snorted.

“Are you brooding about your father then?” There was bitterness and venom in his tone. “About how much would he hate what you are doing? Are you about to change your mind?”

Accusatiory tone, and then Ryoken stood up.

“Come on, Jin Kusanagi. I will show you something.”

He took him down to the basement, to one of the computers.

Slightly outdated. Still working well, though, as he booted it up.

“What is this?”

“The computer the Hanoi managed to salvage from the Incident. The only one that managed to escape SOL Technologies.”

Jin immediately recoiled, glaring at the computer.

“And what made you think this was a good idea to show me?”

“If you want to you can destroy it afterwards,” Ryoken said, deadpan. “But this has all the data we collected from my father’s simulations.”

“You mean the ones that made him attack the Ignis.”

“Exactly those. He ran all these simulations, obviously I could not check all.”

“Did you check this one we are living?”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because my father never ran a simulation where I had a different opinion about the Ignis that he did. In the situations if he was on the Ignis’ side, so was I. If he wasn’t, I wasn’t.”

“...huh?”

Ryoken slowly looked at Jin, and tried to ignore the way his throat was tightening.

“...it never occured to him that I would have different opinion than him about this.”

“Is that why you are doing this?”

Ryoken stepped away from the computer, turning his back to it.

“I don’t know. It is like how I had said when I took the Wind Ignis. I am taking charge of my destiny. Seeing with my own eyes if this will work or not. And if I come to the same conclusion as him, I can act on that. If I don’t, I won’t.”

Jin was silent for a bit, looking back at the computer.

“It’s like my big brother. I don’t think it ever occurred to him that I would be different than what he remembered me to be. He thought I would be the same as I was before the incident.”

“Don’t you think it would be easier if you would be?”

“Probably,” Jin admitted. “But I am not. Do you think it would be easier if you would really be what your father expected you to be?”

“Maybe,” Ryoken nodded. “But I have no idea if I am, or I am not.”

Jin hummed, before moving, grabbing a chair, and throwing it straight into the computer.

Loud crash.

Sparks everywhere.

Jin straightened his back, with a manic light in his eyes before turning back towards Ryoken, who did not say a word.

“Do you have something strong to drink?”

In an hour, both of them were on one of the sofas, Jin’s legs in Ryoken’s leg, and an empty bottle by their feet, and Ryoken’s head was starting to feel heavy.

“Yea, but--- what is your thing? With the dragons? And guns? Dumb.”

“Shut up.”

“Nahhh, I don’t think I will. Also Revolver? Dumb name.”

“You didn’t even have a VRAINS name.”

“Sure do. Lightbringer.”

“That’s very creative. Who came up with it you or the L--- Li---- him.”

“He has a name, you now,” Jin snickered. “Lightning. Liiiightniiiing. Besides I did.”

“Still dumb.”

“Shut it. Hey, did you know there is a type of revolver that has the unoffi-if-ffif…”

“Unofficial.”

“Yeah. Anyway, there is a type of revolver that has the name Lightning.”

“How do you know that?”

“Lightning told me,” Jin shrugged. “Reads a lot lately, you know. Not much else to do. You should visit him more.”

“Maybe,” Ryoken muttered.

Jin snickered, before sitting up, taking Ryoken’s face between his hands.

“You know, you are unfairly pretty. Fuckin… you should be less of a bitch, though.”

Ryoken raised an eyebrow.

“Says you.”

“Yes,” Jin grinned, running a thumb over Ryoken’s lower lip. “Says me.”

And then he leaned forward, pressing their lips together.

For a few moments it was a clumsy kiss, as the alcohol in their system didn’t do them any favours, but they got the hang of it quickly.

Jin tasted kind of bitter like alcohol and bad decisions, and yet, Ryoken found himself getting completely lost in his kiss.

~*~

A few days after Ryoken did visit the Light Ignis, who was by this point almost surrounded by a fort made from books.

“Did you pile these up like this?”

“No,” The Light Ignis shook his head. “This is Jin’s way of tidying up.”

“...of course it is. Found anything interesting?”

“I found the sci-fi section. And I am offended that most of the books here involve rogue AIs becoming humanity’s enemy. I am almost tempted to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“Weren’t the simulations already almost that?”

The Light Ignis frowned.

“Those were not works of fiction.”

“If they never come true, they are.”

“...Jin told me about your father. And your role in the simulations.”

“Is that what you also saw?”

“I am sure it happened in most of them,” The Light Ignis shook his head. “But I did my best to be as thorough as I could be. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I had seen some simulations where you took the side of the Ignis.”

Ryoken slowly nodded, and the Light Ignis tilted his head to the side.

“Aren’t you curious about what I saw in those?”

“No,” Ryoken shook his head. “I don’t want to. I want to make my own destiny - not follow simulations. You should do the same.”

“Easy for you to say. Your father just saw the simulations - for him, they were just data. But I _am_ data. For me, it was like living through them. And you expect me to _get over_ them, and to ignore them.”

“I want you to be the spiteful little bastard you can be. The same spiteful little bastard who just raged against the depiction of AIs in science fiction. And the same spiteful little bastard who still gave me more faith in his simulations than my own father did. I want you to prove those simulations wrong.”

He had no idea why did the words erupt from him, but he couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t stop them, and the Light Ignis just looked at him with those bright green eyes of his - and Ryoken just turned around and stormed out of the room.

~*~

He was wearing his duel disk all of the time as a habit - you can’t know when you need to log in and fix something after all. He was lying on his bed, scrolling through the tablet in his hands, when his duel disk lit up, and a familiar green figure popped out.

“I thought you liked your SOLtiS form too much to do this.”

“Yeah, well,” The Wind Ignis shrugged. “Gotta catch you willing to talk with me and when I am attached to your hand, you gotta.”

“I can lock you out.”

“And yet you aren’t. Soooo, I heard you are getting your daddy issues all over Lightning and Jin lately. What’s all about that?”

“Nothing that concerns you.”

The Wind Ignis hummed.

“Ya know, you don’t need to feel guilty about Jin. Ya didn’t do that shit to him, so you don’t need to kick yourself over it. It was your dad. And the other scientists. Which I think is actually hilarious that _you_ are the one here, trying to sort this out, and the other scientists aren’t.”

“Jin would rip their throats out.”

“True,” The Wind Ignis snickered. “But hey. We are all alive here. We can sort things out. And you don’t have to feel guilty over things you didn’t do, that’s a dumbass thing to do.”

Ryoken raised his eyebrows, and looked at the Wind Ignis.

“Like looking up maps and road plans on how to go to the city where your own origin lives, and then never going, despite being free to come and go as you please?”

Now that made the Wind Ignis deflate.

“That ain’t the same thing.”

“You didn’t do it. You were essentially brainwashed.”

“So what? I should blame Lightning? Should I hate him?” The Wind Ignis shook his head, annoyed, eyes narrowing. “Hating myself over it is easier than hating him.”

“Have you tried not hating either of you?”

“Have you tried not being a broody bitch?”

The corner of Ryoken’s mouth twitched.

“We are all works in progress here, Windy.”

Dumbfounded silence, and then Windy flailed with his arms, and started ranting with a higher pitched voice.

“Oh god! I gotta write this down into a calendar or something! You called me by my name! Wow! What novelty! Okay, I think you actually are capable o--- OW.”

Ryoken put down his tablet just so he could pull on Windy’s head-tendril, and then smirked.

“You talk too much. Shut up. I need to sleep.”

“The bitch part is still there I see.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Windy was still fuming when Ryoken closed his eyes.

He was vaguely aware of something soft, and something with multiple arms wrapping around him.

He did not open his eyes.

But in reality, this was the first time he had a really peaceful sleep in years.

~*~

He had no idea what was forming here, between the three of them. Maybe they should not have locked themselves away like that. Even though they spent a lot of time avoiding each other, maybe something like this was inevitable.

Maybe he should have turned back, but he didn’t, and the others didn’t seem to, either. Once he saw Lightning trying to read with Jin sleeping in his lap. Another time he saw the two Ignis outside, under the new moon, watching the stars, Windy clinging on Lightning’s arm. And another time he saw Jin making out with Windy while he was sitting on the kitchen counter.

Yeah, no.

They were probably way too far gone, whatever _this_ was.

At least those three were.

It was hard to tell where did Ryoken fall into this - between one time drunkenly making out with Jin, and a few times of Windy wrapping his monstrous body around him while he slept, what did that amount to?

What did Ryoken want it to amount to?

Then he was forced into a choice quicker than he expected.

He was in the same room with Lightning, between the many books that swirled around the room strategically (Jin absolutely seemed to delight himself with building walls with them), and Lightning just walked between them, when suddenly, his entire body convulsed.

“...Lightning?”

He barely even noticed he called him his name out loud for the first time - and he couldn’t even backtrack, because Lightning dropped the book, and then fell backwards, crashing through the many books, with a loud noise.

“Lightning!”

Ryoken found himself jumping over more books to rush to the Ignis’ side, and knelt down next to him - Lightning’s glasses were lopsided, as they fell off, bright green eyes barely focusing on Ryoken, grabbing Ryoken’s hands, nervously, panicking… before he went limp, the lights going out. Not just in his eyes, but on his neck as well.

His SOLtiS body powered down.

Something… or someone yanked Lightning’s consciousness out of this body of his.

Well.

Too bad Ryoken wasn’t going to just let that happen that easily.

_Into the VRAINS!_

~*~

When he installed the program that kept Lightning under house arrest, it had another purpose, in case the Light Ignis would flee into the network, helping Ryoken to easily track him.

So it was easy to show up where Lightning was.

Familiar darkness and green lights.

And a very, very familiar figure standing there, with a small, yellow creature in his hands.

“...father?”

Ryoken’s voice was powerless, and he could not move, as his father turned and looked at him.

“...Revolver. I am glad to see you are alive and well.”

“But… how?”

“Before we started the Tower of Hanoi, I hid a backup of myself into the network,” His father explained. “If the Tower is a success, it would have been deleted, as there is no need for me to come back. But I set a date for the backup to activate, in case it doesn’t. And the time came. I’m happy to see you managed to find… a real troublesome one.”

Lightning narrowed his eyes, not looking away from Ryoken’s father, and Ryoken himself couldn’t move.

And the doctor continued.

“So I checked the simulations again. And I found that - this one. This one is the root of all problems. We get rid of this one, and there is a chance the others could live. I will have to check the simulations more thoroughly, once this one is erased.”

“...did you check all possibilities?”

Ryoken heard Lightning ask the question that he himself wanted to, and his father looked down at him with… contempt.

“What you mean all? Trust me, I had seen enough.”

“Did you check what happens, if Revolver takes our side and you don’t?”

Silence.

_Please. Please tell me that…_

“Why would I do that? Revolver knows the risks. He knows what needs to be done.”

“...father, let the Light Ignis go.”

Now that, that made his father recoil, and Ryoken felt sick in his stomach.

“Revolver, this one is…”

“I am taking control of my destiny. One that was not in your simulations. And I am granting Lightning the choice to do so as well. Because isn’t that what free will is about?”

“Revolver, you don’t---”

There was another swirl of data, and then a second figure appeared.

It took Ryoken a few moments to recognize him. Especially as his new avatar seemed so different from the first one.

He was still wearing white with some purple in it, and with star-patterns, but the ridiculous collar was gone. His hair was also longer, golden-white, with purple highlights.

And absolute hatred in his eyes.

“...ah. _You.”_

“And you are…?” His father asked, and Ryoken replied.

“This is Lightbringer. He is the origin of Lightning. So you know what that means.”

“Then you should know more than anyone!” His father snapped, pointing at Lightbringer. “What he did to you… he broke your mind, when he was barely conscious.”

“Oh well, that is between Lightning and me, don’t you think?” Jin’s voice was cold. “Give me back my partner, Doctor. I would hate to hurt you while there is a chance I could also hurt him.”

Ryoken’s duel disk lit up, and Ryoken did not even look down.

He knew who it was.

“Ta-daaaa, hey, did you miss me? Going off all dramatically. Freaked us out a bit, you know. What is goi--- oh. Oooh. That’s new. Daddy issues back in your face, huh?”

“Windy.”

“I know, I know. Shutting up.”

Lightning suddenly shifted in Ryoken’s father’s grasp, turning into his monstrous form, bared his teeth - and Ryoken looked away, just as his father screamed, and next thing he knew, with a bright flash, Lightning was back in Jin’s duel disk.

“Revolver!” Ryoken looked back at his father, who was missing his arm now, data turning red around him. “Don’t… don’t doom humanity with trusting that one. That one can’t be trusted. I will be back. We will talk later.”

And then he disappeared.

And Ryoken logged out immediately.

And as soon as he woke up, took off the duel disk from his hand, threw it away, jumped to his feet, and _ran._

~*~

It was raining outside. It was night, and pouring, so there was no moon in the sky, and Ryoken just ran alongside the sea, trying to outrun… what?

Everything.

He could not run far, actually. He was not used to running, and soon he doubled over from the pain in his side, and he wanted to keep running, but couldn’t, and…

“Ryoken!”

Windy did not need to breathe, so unlike Ryoken, he was not wheezing - but he was still soaked wet, standing in front of Ryoken, with a lot of emotions on his face.

“Like. Wow. Props for a late teenage rebellion, I guess? I mean your old man getting away only means problems for us, but hey, at least we have you! I wonder about the rest of the Knights, I mean they seemed loyal to _you,_ but will it stay like that? Well I guess with Spectre, maybe, but---”

“...so you think I made the right choice.”

“Well, duh. Definitely good for me. And good for Lightning. And Jin. And the rest of the Ignis. And well, the Lost Incident victims we do know. It’s… are you doing well? You aren’t looking well.”

“I feel like a horrible son, really.”

“Well, if your father is like the good doctor, I think being a horrible son isn’t that bad.”

“Thanks, Windy. Helpful as ever.”

“Wow. Sarcasm. Great. I ran after you into the pouring rain where you ran off to because of your daddy issues, and this is what I get as thanks? I thought I would get something more. A bit more gratitude maybe? But nooo, Sulky McSulk can’t---”

Ryoken realised there was one way he could shut Windy up, so he stepped closer, and pressed their lips together.

Windy immediately kissed him back, wrapping his arms around him.

Ryoken lost track of how long they were standing there, in the rain - but honestly, kissing Windy pretty much pushed all thoughts out of his head.

~*~

“Is it true what he said? About your mind?”

Ryoken figured he should ask Jin, who pulled a face.

“Kind of. Take a brand new lifeform, give him something shiny to study, there are odds he is gonna poke at it too much and break it. Give a toddler a vase, they might shatter it. I don’t think he was aware of what he was doing.”

“What does he say about that?”

“He doesn’t like to admit he messed anything up. I had to bother him a lot to get some kind of admission. Trust me. Been there. Done that. I’m the only one who has any right to be pissed at him over that, and I dealt with it.”

Ryoken was silent, and then Jin reached out, taking his hands between his hands.

“ _Please._ Let this one go. Like you are letting the thing with Windy go. Let us decide whether we hold grudges over it or not. He deserves a fresh start. And please, for anything that is holy or whatever, do _not_ tell this to my brother. He would freak.”

Decisions.

All the decisions.

Ryoken looked back up into Jin’s eyes, before leaning forward, and giving him a small kiss on the lips.

“...I’ll do my best.”

“...well that kiss definitely wasn’t your best.”

“You are horrible.”

“Yeah, I know. Shut up and kiss me again.”

So he did so.

~*~

“Did you come here to tell me that my chance is off, and that you will kill me either way?”

Lightning was kneeling there, back in his SOLtiS body obviously, fixing the book-fort that they crashed through when… the things happened.

“Do you always jump straight at the worst conclusions?”

“It is hardly unreasonable,” Lightning hissed, standing up and fixing his glasses. “Your father is back. You got some new information which probably put all of this in a different light. It is logical that you would---”

Ryoken moved between the books quick, grabbing Lightning’s tie, and just pulling him into a kiss with that.

Lightning stiffened for a few moments before leaning into the kiss, letting himself enjoy it, before Ryoken pulled away - but did not let go of his tie.

“Free will. Not always logical,” Ryoken said in a soft voice. “And think a little less.”

“I can’t do that. That is the one thing I can’t do.”

“Then come to me and I will _make_ you think less.”

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Is that a promise?”

“You want it to be?”

“I don’t know if you can keep that promise.”

Ryoken smirked a bit, pulling him back by his tie again, causing Lightning to tilt his head a bit backwards.

“I think I can definitely do my best.”

~*~

“By the way, Lightbringer, did you have to make your VRAINS avatar that gaudy?”

“I don’t see the point you are making here.”

Jin was grinning like a shit, walking around Link VRAINS.

All four of them were there, Lightning frowning in Jin’s footsteps, and following him either way, and Windy clinging on Ryoken’s arm like the annoying pest he was.

Ryoken removed the program from Lightning that kept him locked in- it wasn’t probably safe to keep staying at that house either way.

Nothing was over yet.

Ryoken tried not to think about what, or rather, who was out there in the network. Who might be looking for them, and the loyalties of most of the Hanoi were still questionable.

“You think too much,” Windy murmured into his ear. “That is Lightning’s job. Relax a little would you? Don’t stress that much. We still have time to figure things out.”

...he wouldn’t have said that out loud, that maybe Windy was right.

Besides, they weren’t alone - even if they would lose the Knights, Playmaker and his faction were there - and he already saw them in the distance, with the other Ignis, and Lightning’s creations also there, and that was more competent people in one group than the Knights of Hanoi truthfully ever had.

They did not have a bad starting hand, and that was better than nothing.

Lightning still was overthinking everything, and there was always a _chance_ he would freak out again, Jin’s secrets from his brother might blow up at one point, Windy still did not face his origin, and Ryoken… Ryoken was also dreading the future for his own reasons.

But they were all works in progress.

And that was already better than what they had before.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
